Groove in the Louvre
by CCKins
Summary: *Set after Emperor's Treasure - spoilers inside* With no more leads on this father, Phantom R goes back to doing what he does best - stealing priceless works of art. On this occasion however, he is visited by an old friend in the Louvre.


**Groove in the Louvre **

The Mona Lisa. Started in 1503 by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, and finished fourteen years later in 1517. No doubt one of the most popular pieces – if not _the_ most popular piece of art on Earth.

Oh, and fake.

At least the one that was displayed in front of Phantom R. A small amount of pride built up inside him, looking at the immaculate copy of the famous picture. No doubt it had taken his father a few attempts to get the piece nothing short of perfect. That was how nobody – apart from himself – knew the difference. His father even put on the scratches on the left most side of the image. If the original was not in his basement, then even he would've believed that the picture in front of him was the real deal.

The thief sighed, the pride inside of him diminishing.

"Hrnn..."

Phantom R snapped out of his thoughts, looking down at Fondue, who was trying to comfort his owner by snuggling against his leg. Phantom R smiled, bending down to pet the dog. "I'm alright boy. Say, let's get out of here quickly, then we can get ourselves a treat, all right?"

"Woeuf!" Fondue barked happily.

Phantom R chuckled, but held a finger to his lips. "If you make so much noise, we won't be getting out at all!" Fondue fell silent, but his tail still wagged in anticipation. He watched as Phantom R hopped over the banister, going over to a keypad next to the picture encased in glass. He quickly solved the riddle for the combination, the glass panel protecting the fake opening up. Phantom R grinned, about to take the framed picture –

"Woeuf! Woeuf!"

"Fondue!" Phantom R snapped. "I told you to be quiet! Do you want us to-?"

The thief cut himself off, a quick glimpse of something aimed at him enough for him to act quickly. He dropped and rolled on the floor, landing in a crouch as the something slammed into the wall by the painting. Having missed its target, it bounced in front of him.

_'A football...?'_ Phantom R thought. Why, that could only mean...

"You should know better than to kick things around when surrounded by such valuable works of art," Phantom R called out, comfortably kicking the ball up and bouncing it from knee to knee. "Isn't that right..." He finally kicked the ball up higher, swinging and spinning on the banister before he kicked the football at its owner. "...Charlotte?"

Charlie Vergier effortlessly caught the ball in both hands, before putting it under her arm. She scowled at her rival, who was standing on the banister, one hand on his hat, the other resting on his hip. "It's pronounced _Charlie_," she grunted. A wicked smile suddenly adorned her features. "Although you'll be calling me _ma'am_ when I put you and your mutt behind bars."

Fondue started barking at the trainee private eye. "Now, now Fondue, that's no way to talk to a lady," Phantom R said, jumping down to the floor. "You have to woo her to your favour. For example: Dear Charlie, may we please take this wonderful work of art home with us?" The football was shot towards Phantom R's chest. He easily eased it down to the floor after bouncing it on his torso, placing his foot atop it. He chuckled. "No silly, I didn't mean _you_."

Charlie clenched her teeth together, fighting back the blush that threatened to show itself. "You can fool around all you like, Phantom R! You're only prolonging your capture. Even if you manage to escape from me – which I promise you, you won't – my father is outside, planning your grand exit into his car! Make this easy for the both of us, and let me put these on you!" Charlie reached into her pocket, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.

Phantom R tapped his chin. "Tempting, however." He kicked the ball softly back to Charlie. "You'll have to catch me first!" The thief and his dog ran down the room, weaving between statues and expensive china.

"You're insufferable!" Charlie shouted, running after them while dribbling the ball, shoving the handcuffs back in her pocket. She couldn't hope to attack him with her football when all the art was between them, no matter how accurate her aim normally was. She was in enough trouble with her father as it was just being there. Explaining a broken priceless vase was something she didn't need added to her plate.

Phantom R danced around the line of sculptors of many different sizes and designs. Yet, he knew that he was only wasting time, and as long as Charlie was still mobile, there was no way that he'd be able to retrieve the Mona Lisa copy. He needed to find a way to slow her down, or stop her completely.

Charlie made a sharp turn between two stands, Phantom R only a few steps ahead of her. She grinned. "I've got you now," she muttered, drawing her right leg back to aim the ball at him. She was about to kick it when Fondue appeared behind her, biting her left trouser leg, throwing her off balance. She kicked the ball, but instead of hitting the thief, it curved and hit a statue right in it's face. All three of them saw this, Phantom R skidding and turning back to try and save the statue toppling over. He pushed onto it, the full body of stone heavier than he expected. With one final push it stood back upright, before beginning to tip to the opposite side.

Charlie ran up to it, pressing all her body weight into the stone as Phantom R carefully guided it to stand straight again. Once they were both sure that it wasn't going to be moving any more, they let out a sigh of relief at the same time, then exchanged a nervous smile with each other. The private eye then snapped up, glaring at Phantom R. "This was your stupid mutt's fault! If he hadn't distracted me, I would've hit you instead!"

"Fondue isn't stupid. I warned you against kicking your ball in this place, so it's your fault for not listening to my warning," Phantom R replied impatiently. Fondue growled at Charlie.

She seethed, before she pounced sharply. "I've got you!" She reached out to try and grab her enemy, but he was much too quick, sliding around her. Fondue jumped at her, biting her ankle. Charlie cried out, tripped over herself, and was about to crash head first into a railing, protecting another important painting. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact, cursing the thief's mutt.

Only the impact never came.

She opened her eyes, surprised to find herself secure in the arms of her rival. He lowered her carefully to the ground, leaning her against the bars connecting the railing to the floor. She saw his grin as he tipped his hat. "Wrong again, Charlie. _I've_ got _you_."

This time she couldn't stop the blush that burned her cheeks red when their eyes met. She quickly averted her gaze to her lap, cursing her lack of response. She damned Phantom R and his dog, damned her embarrassment, damned her quickening heart beat and sweaty hands...

Hands?

She tried to pull away from Phantom R completely, only then realizing that she was stuck. She yelped, feeling cold metal around her wrists as Phantom R stood up and back, admiring his work. The sneaky fool had dared handcuff her around one of the bars she was leant against. The red in her face went from embarrassment to anger in a spilt second. "Phantom R!" she shouted. "Let me go right now!"

The Rhythm Thief chuckled, throwing the keys to the cuffs up and down in front of Charlie in a mocking manner. "Sorry, but I've wasted enough time as it is. Gotta run!"

He and Fondue made their way back to the imitation of the Mona Lisa, taking it from it's place on the wall and closing the glass panel, Charlie's screams and threats heard all the while. The painting was wrapped in a pale green cloth that they had with them, and then carried under his arm. Fondue yapped in victory, running from the room. Phantom R followed him out, but not before blowing Charlie a kiss and waving her goodbye.

"_Get back here Phantom_!" she yelled. "_Get back here_!"

*)(*/*)(*

Charlie shivered. She'd been trapped in the Louvre for what felt like an hour, and it was unceremoniously cold. Suddenly, light evaded her vision, and she looked up towards the entrance, for some reason coming to the conclusion that Phantom R would come back to let her go. But who she saw made her immediately look down again.

"Charlotte," her father said, obviously concerned. "What are you doing here?"

She didn't answer, only buried her face between her knees. Must she suffer more humiliation? She heard Paul approach her, knowing that he was looking over the scene. The slight chuckle that left his throat was enough confirmation that he understood what predicament she was in. "Just rub it in father!" she spat.

"_Sacrebleu_, Charlotte," Paul murmured, reaching for a key inside his pocket, freeing his daughter. Once she was out, she stood up, stretching. She wasn't used to being sat down for so long, especially in the cold, so her butt ached. "What happen-?"

"_Don't_ ask." She picked up her football. Her face was burning again, and the two started to walk out in silence. Hope sparked inside of Charlie though, which made her speak up. "So, did you manage to catch Phan-?"

"_Do not_ ask."

After turning off the lights, they both let out a large sigh. It seemed like Phantom R defied all odds and slipped from their grasps once again.

_**FIN.**_

* * *

**Breaking News: CCKins is NOT dead.**

**omG guys! I miss posting stuff on this site! Not for my late night oneshots, but because I miss my snazzy author's notes... But, have a bit of both, will ya? My small contribution to a small fandom because quite frankly, Rhythm Thief is so cool (once you get over all the lies and deceit and stupidly hard rhythms)! ****My brother came up with the title, so his even smaller contribution to the fandom.**

**This could be a Charlie x Phantom R shipping if you want it to be, or it could just be Phantom R and Charlie being their usual selves (with a bit more blushing (and handcuffs *wink wink*)). I wrote it with the intention of the former, because as soon as I found out Charlie's gender, I started shipping the two so hard it's just unbearable. I mean, yeah, I love Ralph x Marie to pieces, but Charlie and Phantom R is just... _yes._ (That sequel would be nice right about now SEGA... Need more PRxC plz.)**

**Anyway, I got the whole 'handcuff you and OUTTA HERE' idea from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: The Da Vinci Disappearance, with Ezio and Lucrezia's little scene. Also, the last part with Charlotte and Paul Vergier was a li'le bit weird to write. The two seem quite comfortable with each other in the games, so yeah... I guess it turned out all right...**

_**Show's over! **_**(Yay, B-rank fanfic!)**

**Note: Why the hell isn't Vergier on the list of characters?**


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